August in Town Name History
What happened in August, year after year, in the stories behind 28 American place names. Every line comes from the "Key dates" of one of our articles, and each article lists its sources. Dates are the ones the sources give.
August 1
- 1876Colorado: Colorado becomes a state.
- 1882Livingston, MT: The store opens in tents, the first business in Clark City.
August 3
- 1786Harrisburg, PA: The court minutes change the county town's name from Harrisburg to Louisbourgh.
- 1870Crete, NE: The plat of Blue River City is recorded; that fall a second town goes up next door.
August 5
August 6
- 1901Lawton, OK: The proclamation opening the Kiowa and Comanche lands sets up a land office "at Lawton."
August 7
- 1776Hoboken, NJ: Orders post a guard at "the Hoebuck ferry" to examine passengers.
August 8
- 1729Baltimore, MD: The act passes, and the town is "to be called Baltimore Town."
August 10
- 1663Hilton Head Island, SC: Captain William Hilton sails from Barbados in the Adventure to explore the coast.
- 1708Annapolis, MD: Annapolis gets its city charter, with Anne now queen.
August 13
- 1783Charleston, SC: The act incorporating the city says it shall be called the City of Charleston.
August 15
- 1691Texas: Fray Francisco de Jesús María reports there's no kingdom and that Texas means "friends."
August 16
- Aug. 1878Sturgis, SD: Sturgis City is laid out on August 16, and on August 28 the troops move to the site that becomes Fort Meade.
August 20
- 1836Houston, TX: Sam Houston is nominated for president of the new republic at Columbia.
- Aug. 1861West Virginia: A convention in Wheeling calls for a new state named Kanawha.
August 21
- 1775Spartanburg, SC: William Henry Drayton writes that settlers on Lawson's Fork want a regiment of their own.
- 1959Hawaii: Hawaii officially becomes the 50th state.
August 22
- 1847Salt Lake City, UT: A public assembly votes to call it the "City of the Great Salt Lake."
- 1890Everett, WA: The Ruckers plat a town called Port Gardner at the mouth of the Snohomish.
August 24
- 1839Janesville, WI: Janes, broke, leaves the town to its fate.
August 26
- 1815Key West, FL: Spain grants "the island of Cayo Hueso" to Juan Pablo Salas.
- 1836Houston, TX: The Allen brothers buy the land on Buffalo Bayou. Four days later their ad for the Town of Houston runs.
- 1848Minnesota: The Stillwater convention virtually decides on the name, and Sibley spells it "Minnesota."
- 1868Crete, NE: Jesse Bickle is appointed postmaster of the office he named Crete.
- 1876Deadwood, SD: A townsite called Deadwood is laid out in the gulch.
August 27
- 1857Brookings, SD: Wilmot Brookings reaches Sioux Falls with the Western Town Company.
August 28
- 1565St. Augustine, FL: On St. Augustine's day, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés's fleet reaches the coast of Florida.
- 1610Delaware: Samuel Argall's log mentions "Cape La Warre."
August 30
- 1901Cody, WY: Cody is incorporated, with Frank L. Houx as its first mayor.
August 31
- 1846Kirksville, MO: Jesse Kirk dies.